Israeli Troops Rescue Hostages From Gaza Tunnel

Israeli Military/PHOTO via Instagram @idf

JAKARTA - Israeli special forces rescued an Israeli hostage from a tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip in a "complex rescue operation". The victim was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023.

The Israeli military said Qaid Farhan Alkadi, 52, a member of the Badui community in southern Israel, had now been transferred to hospital in stable condition.

Military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Yahwi said Alkadi was rescued in an underground tunnel but did not provide details of his operations, citing the safety of the remaining hostages and Israeli forces.

"We will not rest until we complete our mission to bring all our hostages back," he said.

The rescue was praised by Israeli leaders, who desperately needed good news after nearly a year of carrying out a massive campaign that caused increasing pressure on the government to do more to repatriate more than 100 hostages.

President Isaac Herzog said the rescue was a moment of happiness for the State of Israel and the people of Israel as a whole.

Israeli television stations showed military helicopters landing at hospitals while medical staff and ambulances stood waiting to receive Alkadi.

He was held hostage in Kibbutz Magen around the Gaza Strip which was attacked by Hamas-led fighters on October 7.

More than 250 Israelis and foreigners were held hostage in the attack, which killed about 1,200 people.

Currently 108 Israeli hostages and foreigners are still in Gaza but about a third of them are known to have died, and the rest are unknown.

The operation, following the rescue of four Israeli hostages in June, comes as negotiations continue to seek to approve the halt to fighting in Gaza and the return of the hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.